Conveyer for tube and bar mills.



J. S. WORTH & W. P. HARRISON.

.GONVEYER FOR TUBE AND BAR MILLS. APPLICATION FILED SEPT.21, 1906.

931,545. Patented Aug. 17. 1909.

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J. S. WORTH & W. P. HARRISON. GONVEYER FOR TUBE AND BAR MILLS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.2 1,1906.

Patented Aug. 17, 1909.

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J. S. WORTH & W. F. HARRISON. GONVEYER FOR TUBE AND BAR MILLS.

APPLIQATION FILED SEPT. 21,1906. 931,545. Patented Aug. 17. 1909.

3 SHEBTS-SHBET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIGE.

JOHN S. WORTH AND WILLIAM F. HARRISON, OF COATESVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO SAID WORTH AND WILLIAM P. WORTH, OF COATESVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

CONVEYER FOR TUBE AND BAR MILLS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 17, 1909.

Application filed September 21, 1906. Serial No. 335,636.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN S. NORTH and \VILLIAM F. HARRISON, citizens of the United States, residing at Coatesville, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Conveyers for Tube and Bar Mills, of which the following is a specification.

The object of our invention is to construct a conveyor for transferring tubes or other shapes from a mill to a cooling table, car or any suitable receptacle arranged at one side of the conveyer so that as the tube is discharged from the mill it will travel endwise along the conveyer until it strikes a lever which automatically lifts the tube and allows it to roll onto the table or other structure situated at one side of the conveyer.

Our invention is particularly adapted for use in tube mills and is situated preferably back of the cross rolls for straightening the tube, receiving the tube from the cross rolls and transferring it automatically onto the cooling table, but it will be understood that it can be used at any point desired in a tube or bar mill without departing from the essential features of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1, is a plan View of our improved transfer conveyer; Fig. 2, is a side elevation; Fig. 3, is

an enlarged transverse sectional view on the line 33, Fig. 1; Fig. 4, is a transverse sec tional view on the line H, Fig. 1; Fig. 5, is a detail plan view of the clutch illustrated in F ig. 1; Fig. 6, is a side View of the clutch illustrated in Fig. 5; Fig. 7, is a sectional diagram view showing the means for elevating the tube so that it will roll onto the cooling table, and Fig. 8, is a diagram View showing the position of the clutch releasing mechanism when the tube comes in contact with the trip lever.

A, A are foundation plates on which are mounted the two standards B, B. These standards are secured to the foundation plates by bolts a, a shown by dotted lines in Fig. 8, and between the base of the standards B and the foundation plates are wedges A, the underside of the bases of the stand ards being beveled to conform to the wedges.

Each wedge can be moved in and out by means of a screw a which passes through a projection a on the wedge and through a nut a mounted in a cavity in the base of the standard.

Plates 0;, a secured to the foundation plates hold the standards laterally so that when the wedges are moved the standards can be raised or lowered to adjust the conveyer in proper alinement with the rolls of the mill and the surface of the cooling table or other receptacle.

Secured to the base B of each standard B are blocks 0, 0 carrying the beams C, C which extend the full length of the conveyer. The beams C, C are spaced a sufficient distance apart for the reception of rollers cl mounted on shafts cl adapted to boxes 0 secured to the beams C, C, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. These rollers are preferably fianged at one side as at (Z Fig. 3, so that the tendency of the tube which is supported by the rolls will be to roll toward the cooling table M, which is arranged at one side of the conveyer and consists of a series of bars m, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The bars in the present instance are railway rails, though other shapes may be used if desired.

Situated at one side of the conveyer is a driving shaft E having a series of bevel wheels 6 which mesh with bevel whee-ls (Z on the ends of the shafts d carrying the rolls (Z.

Mounted on one end of the shaft is a pinion a slightly beveled, which meshes in the present instance with an intermediate pinion e which in turn meshes with a pinion e on the shaft E, being, in the present instance, a continuation of one of the shafts of the cross rolls or straightening rolls from which the tube passes to the conveyer, so that the rollers are kept constantly in motion.

Adapted to slide on each standard B is a carrier F having a bracket F secured to which are angle plates 7', f forming an inverted l guard which is situated directly over the rolls (Z. The carriers can be raised and lowered and when in their lowest positions the guards are just sufliciently above the rollers (Z to allow the tube to pass onto the rollers, preventing it jumping from one side to the other should it have a tendency to do so.

It will be noticed that the guards f, f extend down to such position as to prevent the tube or bar rolling ofi of the rollers (Z so that the guards 7, 7' must be raised clear of the tube when it is desired to transfer the tube from the rollers to the cooling table,

and we provide mechanism for automatically raising the carriers when the tube is to be transferred.

The carrier can be adjusted vertical-1y by means of a screw G which passes through a long nut f mounted in the carrier F, the lower end of the screw is adapted to guides Z) on the standard B and has at its lower end a roller 9 which rests upon a cam 72, on a drivingshaft H. By turning the nuts 7" the carriers can be raised and lowered and in order to turn the nuts in unison we mount on each nut a gear wheel which meshes with a wheel f on a stud f mounted in the carrier F. The wheel f in the present instance is secured to the hub of a bevel pinion 7' which is mounted on a stud 7, but in some instances the bevel pinion and gear wheel may be made in one piece or the gear wheel may have an extended hub 011 which the pinion is mounted, although we prefer the construction shown in Fig. 3. I G is a longitudinal shaft mounted in brackets F secured to the carriersF and on this shaft are bevel gear wheels 9 meshing with the pinion on the stud 7. One end of the shaft G is so shaped as to receive a hand .wheel or wrench by which it can be turned so as to raise or lower the carriers F in unison.

In order to transfer the tubes from the rollers to the "table M or other desirable receptacle, we use a series of bars I which are pivoted at 2', the bars are placed asufficient distance apart to properly support the tubes as they are transferred to the table. The bars are preferably shaped as clearly shown in Fig. 7, and their ends 11 rest upon cams I which are preferably grooved so as to hold the ends of the bars in proper alinement. The cams I are mounted on the shaft H and as the shaft is revolved the cams will raise the bars from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 7, to that shown in dotted lines in said figure, the upper faces of the bars being above the upper surface of the rollers (Z and will consequently lift the tubes off the rollers and as the bars are inclined the tubes will roll from the bars onto the table.

It will be noticed that the cams I and the cams h are both mounted 011 the shaft H and are so placed that when the bars I are raised the carrier F with the guards f, f are also raised so as to allow for the lateral shifting of the tubes. I Suit-able clutch mechanism is introduced between the shaft H and the power shaft to turn the shaft H, one revolution so as to raise the bars I and the guards to discharge the tubes and to lower them again so that another tube can be immediately transferred from the straightening machine or other machine of the mill.

The clutch mechanism is operated by the tube itself coming in contact with the lever or other stop which is so connected to the clutch mechanism as to throw the clutch the moment a tube comes in contact with it and as the tube is removed from the conveyer the clutch will be set so as to be in position for the next operation.

The clutch mechanism we prefer to use is clearly illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings.

On the shaft H is loosely mounted a gear wheel J held in place by a collar j and this gear wheel meshes with a pinion E on the driving shaft E so that the wheel J is constantly turning in the direction of the arrow Fig. 6, when the machine is in motion.

On one end of the wheel J is a toothed clutch face 7" with which meshes the clutch faceia on the sleeve K which is sp'lined to the shaft H so that when the sleeve K is turned the shaft H turns with it. The sleeve K has a groove into which projects a roller 71 on an arm N secured to a shaft N and onthe inner edge of the flange k of the sleeve K is a wedge shaped block 0 which comes in contact with the roller 91 when the sleeveis turned.

Back of the sleeve K is acollar K secured to the shaft and mounted between the collar and the sleeve are springs 76* which tend to force the sleeve K against the gear wheel J so that the sleeve will be clutched to the gear wheel.- There are pins 70 on the collar which extend into openings in the clutch sleeve K and the springs 70* are mounted on these pins. A single spring coiled around the shaft may be used to force the sleeve forward if desired.

On the shaft N is an arm N which is connected to one arm of the stop lever S by a rod S, the lever S is pivoted at s to the frame of the machine and has a broadened end 8 in the path of the tube, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The lever S is situated at the extreme end of the machine so that when the tube is fed onto the 'conveyer the tube will be fed by the rolls of the same until it is stopped by striking the lever S, the force of the blow will be sufficient to shift the lever and throw the rollerato one side of the wedge shaped block k thus releasing the sleeve K from the control of the roller allowing it to be projected into engagement with the clutch face of the gear wheel by its springs, so that it will immediately turn with the wheel and set the means in motion for discharging the tube from the conveyer.

When the clutch is engaged and shaft H put in motion it can make only one revolution as the wedge K" comes in contact with the roller 01 on lever N and forces it to its first position Fig. (5, thereby disengaging the clutch and stopping the revolution of the shaft until the lever is shifted by the tube or bar striking the lever S again or on the movement of the lever S by some other force.

This particular clutch mechanism will form the subject of a separate application for patent to be filed by us and it will be understood that while we have shown this particular form of clutch any suitable mechanism can be used for raising the guard and the bars to allow the tube to roll from the trough onto the table at the side.

The operation of the machine is as follows z-The conveyer in the present instance is situated directly back of the cross roll machine used for straightening the tube after it has been welded and sized, the conveyer delivering the tube onto the cooling table where it is allowed to cool and from which it is removed to be cut to the proper length, tested and made ready for shipment. After the tube leaves the straightening machine it has to be very carefully handled until it is absolutely cold so as to prevent any distortion of the tube. The mechanism is preferably driven from the straightening machine although it may be independently driven if desired and the several rollers are moved continuously so that as soon as a tube is fed onto the conveyer the rollers carry the tube forward until it strikes a trip lever S. The V-shaped guard which is mounted directly above the rollers prevents the tube moving laterally while being conveyed by the rollers. As soon as the tube strilres the trip lever the clutch mechanism is thrown in and the guard is raised to a sufficient height to allow for the removal of the tube, and the pivoted bars are raised to a point above the upper surface of the rollcrs so that the tubes are lifted off the rollers and the inclination of the bars is such that the tubes will roll from the conveying rollers onto the cooling table. When the clutch makes a complete revolution it is automatically thrown out as described above and thetrip lever'is returned to its normal position so as to be in position to be tripped by the next tube traveling through the trough.

It will be understood that while we have described our invention particularly adapted for use in tube mill-s, it can be used in mills for rolling rods and other shapes without. departing from the essential features of the invention.

In order to hold the cam shaft H in proper position when at rest we pivot a lever V on one or on each standard and provide the lever with a shoe a which rests in con- .tact with the cam h, as clearly shown in Fig.

3, and the shoe is held against the cam by a spring a secured to the projection on the standard and to the end of the lever V. A set screw 0 is used to adjust the shoe 0 in respect to the cam. By this meansthe shoe will yield when the shaft is turned to elevate the carrier, but when the cam returns to its normal position the shoe will hold it in proper position so as to bring the cams all in proper alinement.

\Ve claim 1. The combination in a conveyer for tubes and other shapes, of a series of rollers flanged on one side only, guards movably mounted above the rollers and arranged to hold the tubes upon the rollers, and means for causing the tubes to roll to one side of the conveyer when the guard is elevated.

2. The combination in a conveyer for tubes and other shapes, of a series of rollers flanged on one side, an inverted V-shaped guard mounted above the rollers tending to hold the tubes in position on the rollers, with transverse bars, means for raising the bars, and means for raising the guard, the said bars being normally below the upper surface of the rollers.

3. The combination in a conveyer for tubes and other shapes, of a series of rollers mounted one in advance of the other for supporting a tube, means for lifting the tube off the rollers to discharge the same at one side of the conveyer, a continuous inverted xi-shaped guard movably mounted above the rollers tending to keep the tube in position on the rollers, and means for raising the guard simultaneously with the raising of the lifting means.

a. The combination in a conveyer for tubes and other shapes, of a series of rollers mounted on the conveyer for supporting a tube, a guard mounted above the rollers, a series of transverse bars arranged to lift the tube off the rollers, a shaft having a series of cams thereon for lifting the bars and having cams for raising the guard, the cams being so shaped that the guard will be raised in advance of the bars to allow clearance for the passage of the tube from the rollers, substantially as described.

5. The combination in a conveyer for tubes and other shapes, of a series of rollers, each roller being flanged on one side, an inverted ti-shaped guard mounted above the rollers and tending to hold the tube in position on the rollers, means for raising the guard, a series of bars transversely arranged and pivoted on the side opposite the flanges of the rollers, means for raising the bars so as to elevate them above the upper surfaces of the rollers to lift a tube supported by the rollers and cause it to roll on the bars over the flangeless side of the rolls to one side of the machine.

6. The combination in a conveyer for tubes and other shapes, of standards, beams extending from one standard to the other, a series of rollers mounted on the beams, a series of transverse bars extending between the rollers and normally resting below the upper surface of the rollers, a carrier on each standard, a guard secured to the car- &

riers and situated directly above the rollers, a cam shaft, cams on said shaft for raising the bars, cams on the shaft for raising the carriers, clutch mechanism between the driving shaft and the cam shaft, a trip lever connected to said clutch mechanism, said trip lever being in the path of the tube so that when the trip lever is struck by the tube the cam shaft will be set in motion, substantially as described.

7. The combination in a conveyer for tubes and other shapes, of a tube support, a guard above the support, standards, a carrier mounted on each standard supporting the guard, a cam shaft, cams thereon, a nut on each carrier, a screw rod passing through each nut and bearing on the cam of the cam shaft, and means for turning the nuts so as 1 to vertically adjust each carrier, substan tially as described. I

S. The combination in a conveyer for tubes j and other shapes, of means for supporting a tube thereon, transverse bars arranged to; lift the tube from the supports and allow the tube to roll by gravity from the conveyer, means for raising said bars, a clutch for: throwing said lifting mechanism into and; out of gear with the driving mechanism, and

trip mechanism in the path of the tube which operates the clutch when the tube strikes it, substantially as described.

9. The combination in a conveyer for tubes and other shapes, of a series of rollers flanged on one side, a guard mounted above the rollers, means for lifting the guard, a series of pivoted bars transversely arranged in respect to the series of rollers, the normal position of the bars being below the surface of the rollers, mechanism adapted to operate the bars, a trip lever at one end of the conveyer in line with the rollers, a clutch between the driving shaft and the mechanism for operating the guard and the bars, said clutch being connected to the trip mechanism so that when a tube strikes the trip mechanism it will actuate the clutch, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN S. WVORTH. WILLIAM F. HARRISON.

Witnesses WVILLIAM S. G. COOK, S. G. Cook. 

